On tonight's episode of Bar Rescue, Jon
Taffer and crew are in Staten Island, New York to try to rescue Rhythm & Brews. Rhythm & Brews is owned by three brothers and started out as a "booming success." Now the bar has been overrun by bikers, who have driven away other customers. The bikers pour their own drinks and make their own food, and chef Josh Capon is even able to walk in and make himself a pizza. Fireworks are also set off inside of the bar during this episode.During the Bar Rescue makeover, Rhythm & Brews was renamed to 5th & Vine, which is supposed to be a wine and cheese type bar, and it appears they have stuck with that name. Let's take a look at some information, reviews, and updates for 5th & Vine since Bar Rescue came and made all of the changes to the bar:
Positive Reviews:
- "Beer was cold And food was awesome ... Got the wings calamari and flat bread pizzas they were awesome...I think it's a nice spot and now a relaxing chill spot to hang , good luck to them I hope this does better than what it was before it was rescued ... Also bathrooms have been improved !!!"
- "What a beautiful transformation! Comfortable, modern decor. I don't drink much booze, but I noticed the bar was well stocked with premium brands. The wines I selected were held at perfect temperature and fairly priced....Plenty of room in that open space. Staten Island is lacking a nice low key wine bar...Owner (I think) Stu, seems nice enough. I wish them much luck."
Negative Reviews:
- "Wine is good, service is alright .. Waitress was great . Food is horrible . If you want a glass of wine and just hang out it's cool . Eat before you come here because you will wait an hour for lunchable snacks !!!"
- "Good wine. Worst service I've ever had. We got ignored the whole time and it took an hour to get food (that was terrible) when there was only 4 tables."
- "Classy Bar and Clumsy Ownership has really dropped the ball! Do not waste your time going here, it is as fake as the owners attempt to change."
Other News and Links:
- Here are two preview videos of the episode that show everyone making their own food and pouring drinks. (Video 1, Video 2)
- Here is the 5th & Vine Facebook page, which is kept up-to-date, but doesn't have the best grammar.
- Here are the Facebook pages of Erik (owner), Stu (owner), and Jolene (bartender).
- Right after Bar Rescue came, 5th & Vine was hiring servers, bartenders, bar backs and cooks.
- Here is a Facebook post on Erik's page, where he says "our show will be even more ridiculous and unbelievable!" than Walking Dead, and "It's all about entertainment"
- Here are some posts on Stu's (aka Stumanchoo) Facebook Page about Bar Rescue:
- When Bar Rescue was scheduled to come film - "Saturday night. Don't really want to get into specifics. But things you thought you heard. Well it's a Coming. Saturday night we need to be wild we need to b busy. So come LETS Get clumsy Saturday night. It's gonna change our life and Stumanchoo will be that fun guy again. Cause he can indeed change! So at 11pm my life begins again. I expect all that love me, b at Brews sat night. Love you. Can't wait to walk on sunshine again"
- A week before the episode airs - "Next Sunday I expect Bar Rescue to have best ratings ever. Yes it's tv. But my own true story of how I live is deep, get ready for for a hell crazy episode. And if u know Stumanchoo I throw myself out there"
- Referring to people commenting about the bar on a local website - "And to all the bashers on si live. Some that I know personally. How could u. You should b proud of us for trying to do better. Instead of exposing us to ur insults. I'm above the fray. I hope everyone does well and I hope to one day laughing at this note w a cigar in my own big house."
- The reviews of Rhythm & Brews before the makeover were not that bad and people said it was always crowded with a younger crowd. (Link)
Conclusion:
The owners of 5th & Vine have kept the bar name and wine bar theme, and the reviews have been mixed. People like the wine and the atmosphere, while the food has mixed reviews and there are some complaints about service.
Judging by the Facebook posts of the owners, it seems like they really played it up for the cameras. With good reviews and people saying it was always packed, maybe this is the reason they were selected to be on the show.
UPDATE - 5th & Vine was shut down by health inspectors in 4/2016 due to critical violations including evidence of live mice and filth flies (Link). They re-opened shortly after.
UPDATE 2 - 5th & Vine closed in November 2016 - More information on the closure.
*To see how all of the bars from Bar Rescue are doing, go to the Bar Rescue Update page, and also Like us on Facebook or Follow Us on Twitter to stay up to date with all things involving Bar Rescue.
Anyone who refers to themselves as Stumanchoo, really needs to grow up. Was Stu-ster, Stu-deroni, Stu-pocalyspe already taken?
ReplyDeletetesting
ReplyDeleteI believe he had alternately used Stu-pid.
ReplyDeleteThese guys are hopeless.
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to the bikers that went to the bar? Also, I don't really understand what Taffer wanted the owners to do about those bikers. Were they supposed to have fist fights with them or something? I mean, they told them to leave, and they wouldn't, so what exactly were they supposed to do about them?
ReplyDeleteWhat else do you do? You ask nicely, have security on hand, and call the police, as necessary. It's no different with bikers than it is with 'hood' types, drunk frat douchebags, etc...
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm surprised is that Taffer didn't demand that they hire a security guy/security team. He'll make a big deal about it for nightclubs and urban bars. He doesn't do it here.
Plus, for all the episode time devoted to the out-of-control bikers, they seemed to take the final eviction pretty well. A few "you'll be missing us" comments and no real confrontation
There were comments on "Stu's" facebook page relating to a post to Spike link about bikers stating "Wait what? Bikers....?," "Rubber duck stu? Your outta your mind.. Lmfaooo," "Bikers?," and "looking like this was..."spiked up" a bit lol." It leads me to question whether there was really that big of an issue with bikers in the first place or, more likely, drummed up for the show.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing more scarier than the Bikers were those 3 Idiot owners. I really hope they were actors cause they definitely have some big mental issues going on. Especially that bearded bum brother. He reminds me of that fat, bearded idiot Allen from The Hangover movies. How the hell did they even get the permits to buy that place?
ReplyDeletethis episode is the most faked yet. There is no way that real people would let scores of "customers" steal from them without calling the police at least. I doubt that these were real bikers and/or customers doing this - these were probably out of work actors playing a role.
ReplyDeletethe bikers had to be out of work actors. I've unfortunately seen real bikers and they would not let wimpy people kick them out of "their" bar without a massive display of force from either hired goons or law enforcement.
ReplyDeleteI've worked in many bars in my life, no way in hell would a customer come behind the bar and never would they go into the kitchen...cops would have been called in seconds
ReplyDeleteWhats up with how many times "perceived value" was said?
ReplyDeleteI love bar rescue but this episode made me angry just for the fact that if the bikers where a real biker gang then the 3 brothers lived in fear, they deserve respect for turning up to work everyday. Anyone who has lived in real fear of a gang of people who walk over you and are violent will understand the feeling of helplessness. For Taffer to come in and shout at them was just as bad as the bikers, I hoped Jon would have called the cops himself. Having said that i'm only half way through the episode.
ReplyDeleteI Love bar rescue but latly the over the top drama makes the show seemed staged and fake
ReplyDeleteagreed, this is what usually happens when a show is on its last legs. Soon Taffer will be given supernatural powers, a bartender will be abducted by a UFO and there will be a creepy new assistant for Taffer that follows him around (and only Taffer can see him as he is from another dimension in the universe).
ReplyDeleteStu was an insufferable douche nozzle.
ReplyDelete"Bikers" that "took over" a bar allowing themselves to be thrown out of that bar by a yelling reality TV show host? Those same "bikers" not returning with their entire club the next night and tearing the place apart? Sorry, not buying it. Customers behind the bar and in the kitchen and the rest of it and worse, I've seen it playing for years in bars.
ReplyDeleteThe show for the most part seems believable, they don't need the scripted drama.
I attended this taping. Firstly there was never an issue with Bikers at the bar, that was completely made up for the show. In fact the main biker on the show was the bouncer for the bar. Secondly the bar was always filled with a young crowd (21-35) as Staten Island has a busy local music scene many band played there and brought in a lot of young locals.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest issue is that Taffer couldn't have been more wrong about the demographic for the area. He seemed to talk about the price of houses in the area a lot. $600k is a low end house on Staten Island. Also the bar is located on the same block as housing projects, in fact a week after the taping there was a shooting down the block from the bar. The bar itself is located next to a local furniture store which specializes in "no credit, no problem" type business, this gives you a better idea of what the area actually is like.
The kind of people who like wine & cheese simply aren't going to go there. The change has driven away many of the regulars and taken away a venue from which local bands played.
The bikers were fake. The guy that was playing the main biker is the guy that was the bouncer for the bar. The bar before the show was usually crowded with young people (21-35). They were a sports bar/music venue. Usually charged a $5 cover on nights when there was a UFC PPV on. It was dirty and rundown (bathroom is still gross after the show BTW) but it was never dead.
ReplyDeleteI have no sympathy. Either call the police or close down temporarily and reopen with a concept the bikers wouldn't like. The latter is exactly what Bar Rescue did.
ReplyDeleteyou wow made lol omg what did you do to they boys infront of all of the world. you disrespected bikers and told them to get out. well know everyone knows if ou want to get rid of bikers you just do what you did. ok im joking I cant well I am still trying to get my head around the fact that you all are still breathing. that's your smallest problem. I am having a hard time thinking all you had to do was punk them out and they left you all alone. a wize man once said its a long life if your lucky so trwat everyone nice and you don't have to grow eyes in the back of your head. o ya good luck with that im sure they are gone as u scared them away for good lol. ps ide buy a ticket for say the moon . lol
ReplyDeleteif that had been the real deal you wouldn't have a bar and te one way to see the three stuges would be to go to the grave yard . prob not even a real biker club. the worst so called real B.S tv ever
ReplyDeleteHave to agree with you on this one. It looked to staged. I wish the show would stop trying to up the drama and just stick to the format of Bar Rescue. The way the show is now the people on it look like a bunch of nit wits
ReplyDeleteI don't doubt the bikers on camera were riders, they just weren't part of any mc that holed up in that joint. Sons of Staten Island??? Not one bottom rocker in the bunch. Love those sport bikes in the supposed MC. Ya gotta love reality TV.
ReplyDeleteHow is it possible to have a homeless family member and you DON'T know????? Nobody is interested in the life of the sibling that you see every day????
ReplyDeleteFAKE!!!!
God, I don't know who's more of an Idiot on these post, first of, there are a nice amount of biker gangs or clubs in Staten Island, and although some can be crazy, they're not all violent as they may be perceived. I think some of you watch a little to much Sons Of Anarchy. Second of all, the area where they are located is on Richmond road, you know what's very close to that area? The 122 precinct on Hylan blvd, and they're always Patrolling that area, so the notion that they're going to come back with the rest of their club to tare up the place is idiotic at best, never mind the fact that they'll have an entire precinct on em in minutes.. They're not going to risk it. I live in Staten Island, I know a few bikers, and believe me they're not that stupid. Get your facts straight before you start assuming that something is fake.
ReplyDeleteis it me, or is the blond bartender kinda hot?
ReplyDeleteIt's you
ReplyDeleteOne would like to think that, but that's inaccurate. I've worked as part of a DJ company for almost a decade, and I've seen many a bar allow "usual" customers behind the bar to make themselves drink. Sadly, it happens more than you think.
ReplyDeleteHere especially Taffer threw a fit over lack of cleanliness, with really spectacular grunge shown on camera. Which raises a question in my tiny mind: For four seasons, one of the first things that Taffer makes a fuss about, in virtually every ep, is sanitation - replete with camera views that turn the stomach. In most of these cities there's a health inspector who's supposed to ride herd on such places; never a word about his dereliction. And Taffer was INVITED, so howcome the bar owner didn't prep the place, knowing Taffer's fixation with sanitation? And this happens EVERY week!
ReplyDeleteIt's been said about other places that Taffer's advance crew TELL the bars NOT to clean before a taping.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised that (as far as I know) no city magazine has done an article on a Taffer rescue. There seems to be plenty of hype and fakery (or at least unrevealed machinations) that would make for a fascinating revelation.
ReplyDeleteBy now, after four years of Bar Resue on TV, you'd think that barkeeps in trouble would have watched AND learned from previous shows, and already tried some of the remedies (at least the obvious ones like cleaning up, simplifying the menu, and keeping the staff in line) .... yet EVERY episode even in the fourth year has owners reacting to instructions about vermin removal, kitchen cleanup, and staff sobriety as if it were entirely new concepts.
Actually, it woud seem to me that a bar's appearance on Bar Rescue, even with a successful end, has a hidden barb. It may look (to owners as well as everyone else) like getting good advice, free (?) new furnishings and logo, and, of course, free publicity by being on the show as one of Taffer's triumphs. But potential customers may think: It's the same owner and cook who allowed the bar to turn into a toxic dump -- and I'll bet that as soon as Taffer left they fell back into their old habits.
ReplyDeleteSadly, the whole show was scripted. Some of the bikers were bouncers who work there. But lets be honest, you need drama for TV, soo you create drama....and you get somewhat good "reality" TV. Everything from the chair breaking, to the firecrackers, it was all part of the script.
ReplyDeleteWell, people are pretty stupid (or told to be...), and in over ten years of Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen, no one has ever figured out that that two of the things that Gordon is going to ask them is how to make risotto and how to cook scallops.
ReplyDeleteI have watched all of the episodes and I have just rooted for one bar to fell. I wanted the episode with the smart ass owner of the Canyon Inn to fell. What kind of idiot argues with John, who is giving him a total re-modeled bar over something as stupid as a name. You could tell by looking at the guy, that he was a ass hole. He went back and changed the name back to the original name and was felling last I heard. I hate to see his employees lose their jobs but I hope he fells and sells to someone with a personality to run it correctly.
ReplyDeleteCompletely staged. There isn't a biker problem at at the bar, never has been. The place was just poorly run and dirty. Besides, no way a biker 'gang' would allow themselves to be kicked out with just "you'll miss us" as the comeback... Disappointing, as I know the bar and the owners, and was looking forward to a "real" rescue.
ReplyDeleteI worked at a bakery in a nice suburb. We had issues with or inspection. What did they do? Give us a day and time they would be back. One issue was that we didn't have enough certified people in sanitation. Do they just made sure she was scheduled for the next visit. It was a joke. If you need a follow-up you TELL THE PEOPLE when you are coming back. Do we passed. Did we get more certified people? No, but we had one on duty when they came back. That was all the inspector cared about....
ReplyDeleteI think he is a little slow, at least that is what I got from the episode. I do like how upbeat and positive he is.
ReplyDeleteThe bikers were not fake I live right next to the bar. They were there everyday before the restoration. I've only seen the bikers hanging around there once after the whole Bar Rescue thing. I don't own a TV so a change of name was a bit of a mystery to me for awhile and I wondered about the bikers dissappearing for the longest until someone told me what happened.
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing the show I figured I'd check it out. Horrible experience. Went on a Friday night @ 7pm. Was told they weren't open yet, they were still setting up. Gave them 10 minutes, went in, were told they open at 7, what wine bar opens at 7 on a Friday. Go in, first customers in the place and there are drinks (just a straw and a lemon in one and just water and a straw in the other)at the table that were probably left from the night before. The couch looked dirty and the place smelled like a dirty dish rag. Looked at my friends and we were all in unison that we were out of there. The staff said, we're still setting up so give us some time, we said we'll go somewhere else thanks. Just lost 3 cash paying customers and I definitely won't be back again. Btw, on the front door is a B rating from the health department. And just from the visual and smell of first impressions, I can see why.
ReplyDeleteIt was painfully obvious the "I deserve my own studio apartment' guy was playing it up for the camera.
ReplyDeleteI believe you. I don't believe the bouncers were the "biker gang". This bar doesn't need bouncers just a doorman to check ID
ReplyDeleteI own a bar and it is a real concept. Add fresh fruit to a drink and put it in a nice glass and Vola $3 upcharge
ReplyDeleteLiving in fear it not the way to run a bar. When a patron does something like throwing firecrackers behind the bar you ban them. When they come back you don't serve them. PEROID. They will go someplace else. You chip away at the problem until is is gone. These guys had no balls. I know I have been there.
ReplyDeleteYou overrate bikers. The place is under surveillance and no biker wants to go to jail. They like to stay under the police radar.
ReplyDeleteYes they like to keep under the radar. With all the surveillance cameras and a TV show just move on is a better option.
ReplyDeleteI own a bar and from what I see some of the bars have not been cleaned in a year.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get that. He appeared like a sopwith.
ReplyDelete